James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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or by email:gurneyjourney (at) gmail.comSorry, I can't give personal art advice or portfolio reviews. If you can, it's best to ask art questions in the blog comments.

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All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Monday, October 11, 2010

The current October issue of Ranger Rick has a three new paintings of ancient sea creatures.

One shows the giant mosasaur Tylosaurus grabbing a plesiosaur called Dolichorhynchops in a breach attack from below, similar to the way killer whales catch seals. A specimen of Tylosaurus was actually found with the skeleton of a “Dolly” inside.

Some of you at the Illustration Master Class in Amherst last summer watched me draw and paint the finished image. The instructors in that workshop actually brought their jobs (I sort of brought my whole studio) so the students could see the process. Paintings by Greg Manchess and Scott Fischer are pinned up in the background.

You can see why I like the traditional scrap file for photo reference. There are a bunch of photos of breaching humpback whales spread around the final oil painting on the drawing board.

I am dying of curiosity why there is the lighter patch on the line between sea and land at left, and why there is the smooth tonal transition between the sky and mountain just to the left of the "Dolly". Are they to ease the eye's transition between focal points?

Sean and Kevin, that's really observant of you to notice that. On the left side of the picture, I darkened the sky where it meets the mountain to suppress that edge and to draw the eye to the bright water below.

You probably also noticed the way the hot light flares over the outstretched fin, which meant lightening those values a bit. All effects picked up from photo reference of whales.

I adore the choice to color the Tylosaurus like an Orca. I am working on a project myself to paint a bit of a real life sea "monster"--an orca who has killed three people in captivity. I love to see what you have done in capturing this ancient sea monster and give him a familiar feel.